Headteacher recruitment vivas to begin Oct 15 as legal hurdle cleared
Appellate Division stays High Court ruling on experience requirement.
The legal uncertainty over recruiting headteachers for 13,559 posts at MPO-listed schools, colleges and madrasahs has been resolved after the Appellate Division chamber court stayed a High Court judgment that had scrapped the requirement of 18 years' teaching experience.
The order clears the way for candidates who passed the written examination under the 18-year requirement to appear in viva voce examinations scheduled to begin on 15 October.
The chamber court, however, directed authorities to keep 46 posts vacant for the 46 teachers who had challenged the experience requirement.
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Justice Rezaul Haque of the Appellate Division passed the order today (6 October) following an application by the secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education.
Attorney General Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal and Deputy Attorney General Osman Chowdhury represented the state.
The attorney general said an amendment introduced on 25 March this year increased the required teaching experience for headteacher recruitment to 18 years.
He said the manpower structure formulated in 2021 had contained two provisions on the matter.
Under one, candidates serving as assistant headteachers needed 15 years of total experience, including three years as assistant teachers. Another provision allowed direct recruitment.
The amendment subsequently raised the required experience to 18 years, he said.
Forty-six teachers challenged the amendment in the High Court, which later scrapped the 18-year requirement and made the rule absolute.
The Ministry of Education and the Non-Government Teachers' Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA), on behalf of the state, appealed against the judgment.
The Appellate Division chamber court stayed the High Court judgment today, removing the legal barrier to continuing the recruitment process under the amended requirement.
Viva to begin on 15 October
Written examinations have already been held for 13,559 posts of institutional heads, including principals and vice-principals, the attorney general said.
With the High Court judgment stayed, candidates who passed the written examination under the 18-year experience requirement can now take part in the viva without legal obstruction.
Apart from the 46 posts reserved for the teachers who filed the writ petition, there is no legal obstacle to proceeding with recruitment for the remaining posts, he added.
The viva examinations for institutional heads are scheduled to begin on 15 October, and the schedule has already been published.
